Outline:
If you were asked to think of a childhood movie that you remember with fondness, what would that be? Children and even adults exhibit a wonderment, excitement and creative imagination after watching an animated movie like Disney or Pixar. Walt Disney stated that “Animation offers a medium of storytelling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world”. Animation, however, is not just for entertainment it can also be harnessed to be used in a therapeutic setting. “Life, Animated” by Ron Suskind is the story of how a family with an autistic son reconnected, learned life skills and grew together through their son’s affinity for animation. There are also studies done where Speech Therapists are using short 30-40 second animated segments of speech to teach language to learners with autism and learning difficulties. Using the different elements such as visual; verbal/creative; music/sound and movement/motion that an animated movie consists of, the therapist can utilize it for positive change with a client. The workshop explores using animation as a way of engaging therapeutically with a client.
Aims of the workshop:
- Discussion of the theory behind Animated Affinity Therapy.
- Understanding how to use the integrative multi-modal approach of Animated Affinity Therapy.
- Illustrating and practicing using Animated Affinity Therapy (visual; verbal/creative; music/sound and movement/motion elements) with clients.
Outcomes of the workshop:
After completion of the workshop the participants will be able to:
- Have an understanding of the theory underpinning Animated Affinity Therapy.
- Be able to use the multi-modal approach to work with the affinities of their clients to bring about change.
